INVESTIGATION: Questions Arise Over Judge Caprio’s Residency
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Frank Caprio, Chief Justice of the Providence Municipal Court and patriarch of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, told GoLocal that he resides at property he owns at 160 Vinton Street in Providence. Caprio is seeking reappointment to serve another four-year term as Chief Justice of the Court.
Caprio, who owns a multi-million dollar residence in Narragansett, said when asked how many nights in the past month he had spent at Vinton Street, "Thirty. If you're worried about my residence, you're welcome to visit anytime."
GoLocalProv since learned however that Caprio has recently spent significant time in Florida -- with the winter weather requiring him to seek cover from an associate judge on the court.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to his ethics filings, Caprio owns two properties in Florida, one in Miami, and one in West Palm Beach.
"I swapped weeks with him -- we sit every third week, but swapping happens," said Municipal Court Associate Judge Anthony Giannini. "I can ask him, "If you take my week, I'll take yours,' that type of thing. He was in Florida back when they forecasted the big storm, so that's when I sat for him. He was supposed to come back that Sunday, but he took that Monday and Tuesday with the weather."
Giannini was referring to winter storm Juno, which hit Rhode Island on January 26.
Beyond the time in Florida, Caprio has spent significant time at his home on Ocean Road in Narragansett.
Ethics Filings Raise Questions
Caprio contends Vinton Street, which has an assessed value of $200,300 (versus the multi-million home in Narragansett) is his primary residence. However, the the City of Providence's Tax Assessor's office confirmed to GoLocalProv that the 160 Vinton Street address is assessed at the non-owner occupied rate -- and not the owner-occupied rate. There is a substantial tax savings if Caprio claimed the property as owner-occupied.
Real estate interests listed for Caprio show nine properties for which Caprio, his spouse, or child has an interest in, including two in Florida -- one in Miami, and one in West Palm Beach. In Providence, Caprio is listed as a joint tenant at 33 Jones Street, and the owner of a lot at Adie Street. The report shows for Narragansett Caprio's 545 Ocean Drive property, his current half ownership of the Coast Guard House at 40 Ocean Road, and interests in two lots. He also listed up until 2013 a half interest at 121 Tower Hill Road in Wakefield for the old Casey's Bar and Grill.
In 2004, the Providence Journal's Adam Holland wrote that Caprio doubled the size of his guesthouse at 545 Ocean Drive sometime in the previous decade without first getting a building permit, bypassing Zoning Board scrutiny and avoiding higher property taxes, according to the town building inspector. In 2008, the house was chosen by the Newport Showhouse Guild to be the subject of the its 2008 Designer Showhouse, which involved a decor makeover and public tours to raise money for local charities.
Municipal Court Appointments Up
The four year appointments for Municipal Court are up for review -- and selection -- by the Providence City Council this year.
In addition to Caprio and Giannini, the current court composition includes Catherine Graziano who is Associate Judge, and Lisa Bortolloti, who serves as an unpaid volunteer judge, in the event the other judges cannot serve.
Former City Council President and Interim Mayor John Lombardi, who currently serves as a State Representative, sent a letter to the Council declaring his candidacy, as did State Representative Dan McKiernan. Lombardi said he was told he is to appear before the Finance Committee on Tuesday.
"I'm very interested in a judgeship on the court," said Lombardi. "It's a capstone, it's what all lawyers aspire to."
City Council President Luis Aponte said the council had gotten letters of intent from all four current judges, plus the two state reps from Providence.
Councilman Kevin Jackson said he would like to see Providence residency, while not a requirement, be a criteria.
"This is how I've always felt, part, after the state took away the residency requirement," said Jackson. "They said it would speed up our funding formula at the time -- ten, twelve years ago -- if we did it, but we knew we wouldn't get more money. The unions were complaining about it, saying it prevented them from getting talented workers, so that was it."
As for looking at the court composition, when the last time it changed was 1998 when Graziano was appointed, Jackson said he was in favor of change.
"Change is difficult, but I think it's time we take a look at it," said Jackson.
Editors' Note: A previous version indidcated the Vinton Street address was not listed in the real estate holdings. The Ethics Commmission does not require the home address to be listed in that section. Filings for 2006 through 2011 list Vinton Street under home address; 2012 and 2013 however list One Center Place as the home address.
Moreover,
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